CIO — Old friends, family gatherings, homeward-bound travel all go hand-in-hand with the holiday season—and, of course, so does taking photos of these special moments.

I'd argue the iPhone is the best camera for the job for some of us, too. Sure, pricy digital cameras deliver much better pictures especially in the hands of a seasoned photographer. But for amateurs like me who don't like to walk around with a bulky DLR hanging around their neck, the iPhone is the only camera that's always within hands reach when that special moment arises.

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But can the iPhone camera really deliver the goods? Can you trust the iPhone to record special moments? After all, holiday photos will be treasured for years.

First, let's clear the biggest iPhone hurdle: please keep your iPhone charged. There's nothing worse than wanting to take a photo only to see the battery icon in the red. There's no getting around the much maligned iPhone battery, so be mindful about how you use your iPhone and take advantage of recharging opportunities.

That said, the iPhone 3GS packs a pretty powerful camera (as opposed to the low-res cameras of the iPhone 2G and iPhone 3G, which are not good cameras to record holiday moments). The iPhone 3GS camera takes 3.2 MP pictures and has built-in zoom, which you access by tapping three fingers on the screen, as well as manual focus, which you access by tapping one finger on the area of focus.

While the iPhone can't compete with the pricy standalone digital cameras in terms of picture quality and features, I'm finding that it's good enough for the holidays. Some phenomenal photos from the iPhone 3GS can also be found on the Internet.

To be honest, I've never taken any pictures of that kind of quality. The iPhone camera is still just a camera, and the skills of the photographer make all the difference. Skills aside, I still like to take photos during the holidays. Thankfully, some cool iPhone apps help the amateur photographer produce some good pictures.

Here are my five favorite photo-related iPhone apps:

Snapture: Taking Pictures Is a Snap

I don't take pictures through the iPhone's camera app anymore—I take them with Snapture ($1.99). It's basically the camera app with some very cool added features.

For starters, you don't have to hit the main button to take a picture, just tap anywhere on the screen (probably where you want the camera to focus). This forces you to hold the iPhone with one hand, while taking the picture with the other. The result is a steadier hand and a better image.

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